Vera Bradley Shares Soar After Profit, Sales Beat Expectations

Vera Bradley Inc. shares soared 19.8% in premarket trade Wednesday, after the company announced better-than-expected third-quarter results and provided an upbeat outlook for the current quarter. The company said it had net income of $10.3 million, or 27 cents per share, in the latest quarter, up from $8.7 million, or 21 cents per share the previous year. Adjusted earnings per share were also 27 cents, beating the FactSet consensus of 20 cents. Sales rose to $126.7 millon from $125.2 million, above the FactSet consensus of $121 million. The company forecast fourth-quarter sales between $151 million and $155 million, compared with the FactSet consensus of $149.4 million. It expects EPS between 40 cents and 43 cents, above the FactSet consensus of 39 cents. "While our overall comparable sales fell 9.5%, our comparable store sales declined just 2%, which is a meaningful improvement in the trend from prior quarters," said Chief Executive Robert Wallstrom in a statement. Vera Bradley shares are down 43% for the year so far through Tuesday, while the S&P is up 0.2%.